Adherents.com: Religious Groups in Literature

34,420 citations from literature (mostly science fiction and fantasy) referring to real churches, religious groups, tribes, etc. [This database is for literary research only. It is not intended as a source of information about religion.]

religious, continued...

"'Beyond anything the sentient mind can comprehend, there is a force that drives the universe, Data. Only when we leave this state of existence will we meet and comprehend it.'

'We?' asked Data. 'You believe in an existence after death. You believe you have a soul.'

'Oh, yes. There is no doubt of it.'

'I do not know if I have one.'

Thralen smiled. 'I know you do,' he replied, 'and not because of a Judge Advocate's ruling.'

'Her ruling was that I have the right to try to find out if I have one,' Data pointed out.

'Well then,' Thralen said, 'perhaps the Konor can tell you. If they call themselves 'those with souls,' that implies that they can recognize a soul when they see it.' But Data heard the sarcasm in the anthropologist's voice; neither of them could credit people of such viciousness with any degree of sensitivity. "

"From the corner of my eye, I noticed a man sneaking valuables from the pocket of another--a holy man, of all things, a Tellarite. I stepped in and snagged the thief in the act... Most Tellarites were aggressive and warlike, but there was a small white-clad religious sect that was not only harmless, but generally considered wise, pious, and peaceful. Even among their own, they didn't really fit in.

"Picard knew that many of his contemporaries, while admiring the work of the Little Mothers, felt that religious organizations such as theirs were anachronistic. Picard did not agree. As a student of history, he was keenly aware of the part religion had played in the spread of civilization.

Picard was too honest a researcher to ignore or deny the many atrocities that had been committed in the name of religion. Earth's past was as studded with them as many other world's histories, and much more than some. Yet it was the organizations of religion that had kept the light of law and learning, the essence of civilization, alive during eras of darkness that might otherwise have seen those lights extinguished. "

[1] "She [the nun] cocked her head slightly to one side and studied the captain. 'As for religion no longer playing a part in society,' she said. 'Which society? The Vulcans, whose discipline of pure logic, the Kilinar, exists side by side with their mystical teachings of the Katra? The Bajorans who unanimously claim that it is their spiritual beliefs that have held them together as a society throughout the long years of Cardassian domination? I could name dozens more.' "

[2] "'Perhaps I should have said that religion is no longer as important on Earth as it once was,' Picard replied.

'Oh, come now, Captain,' Sister Julian said. 'You don't mean that. Just because w no longer fight ward over our beliefs, you don't think that they are gone, do you? Religious beliefs, their myths and practices have been with humankind since its beginnings. By the time the first god figure was painted on a cave wall, the myths of that god had already been told around the campfire, told and believed. I think it is, rather, that we have learned to let religion be a matter of the heart, personal and not political. We have at last learned tolerance.'

[1] "'Consider this,' Picard was saying. 'In all the myriad cultures we have encountered, every one of them has included a philosophy, a religion, that deals with the questions surrounding the meaning of existence. Are we more than a cosmic accident, and if so, why are we here? Where did we come from? Is there a God? Is death a finality or a transition? Where do we go? These are the questions asked by every sentient civilization--and in every one of them there have been those individuals whose lives are dedicated to striving for the answers.'

'So what are the answers, Captain?' Data asked with the frank, trusting innocence of a child.

Picard's expression was one Troi was glad she had not missed. His eyes grew wide and he blinked twice... 'Data,' the captain finally managed to say, 'I don't claim to know any Ultimate Truths. I know only what I believe, personally, and each person must come to such beliefs for him- or herself.' "

'Then I would suggest you begin by reading history. Many of the greatest minds and greatest philosophical writings have come out of monastic settings and disciplines. But do not limit yourself, Mr. Data. You are in a unique position. Not many of us come to these questions so free of preconceived opinions and prejudices.' "

[3] "'Do you have any suggestions as to where I should start, Captain?' [to learn about the meaning of life, etc.]

Again Picard drew a deep breath. He shifted in his seat... as if his command chair had suddenly become uncomfortable. He considered Data's question very carefully; there were so many writings that he values: the Discourses of Plato and the great Dialogues of Epictetus; the philosophy of the Tao Te Ching; the Summa Theological by Thomas Aquinas and the mystical vision of The Cloud of Unknowing--and those only named a very, very few. Away from Earth, there were the Teachings of the Katra from Vulcan and the Xhari'a of the Felicus; the Orisha of the Yoruba, whose complexity had taken him so long to understand, but who expressed the ideals of union so eloquently, and the Ik-Onkar whose religion was expressed not in words but in symbolic notations.

'An interesting point,' Data replied. 'However, in accordance with the captain's suggestion, I have begun my research into the religious and philosophical questions of the purpose of existence by reading history. Since both the captain and my creator, Doctor Soong, are human, I have begun by reading human history. I spent last night reading the history of... Earth, particularly in regard to the development of myth and religion. Although there are many esoteric writings I have yet to cover, I believe I know have a basic working knowledge of the subject. Many cultures worshiped warrior gods and valued warrior abilities. Among the most notable were the Aztecs from... Central America, the followers of Ba'al in the Middle East, the Celtic members of the Cult of the Head, the followers of the Norse gods Odin and Thor, the Samurai culture of ancient Japan--' "

'But, Lieutenant, that is a most incomplete list. In fat, I found that nearly every culture throughout Earth history has at one time or another followed the Way of the Warrior. Even those religions that claimed to teach peace espoused the concept of holy war at some time in their development. I found it quite confusing--perhaps you could explain it to me.'

Again the Klingon struggled with his temper. 'Is that why you have come to me?' he asked.

'No, Lieutenant. The captain also suggested that I talk with people before forming any religious opinions. The logical place to start is with my crewmates. The ship's library contains very little on Klingon culture and history, and almost nothing on Klingon religion.'

"'I'm not religious in the same way the Little Mothers are, but I believe in--something--that gives shape and reason to the universe. And that something is inside us, too--making us strive to be better than we are, helping us recognize that all life-forms are a part of one another.'

'That is not very precise, Geordi.'

'I know, Data.' The engineer shrugged his shoulders. 'But it's the best I can do.' "

Pg. 127-128: "Data was already in Ten-Forward. It had, in many ways, been a confusing two and a half weeks for the android. In his search for spiritual understanding, everyone with whom he had spoken so far had had something different to say.

He had spoken with many crew members besides Worf and Geordi. Not everyone he spoke to claimed to have any religions beliefs; some, in fact, were quite adamant that they did not. "

"Others spoke of religion and religious practices in terms of family history and traditions rather than personal beliefs. They reminded Data of something Keiko and Miles O'Brien had said shortly before their wedding.

Keiko's family still followed the Ryobu-Shinto tradition which united the earth mysticism of the Shinto with the teachings of Buddhism. O'Brien's heritage was Irish Catholic. Data knew that historically these two religions were opposed, sometimes violently, to one another, yet rather than be disturbed by the differences, as their ancestors would have been, Keiko and Miles O'Brien welcomed the diversity and claimed it added a richness to their marriage. "

"Data had also spoken with Beverly Crusher. Her opinions reflected her idealistic and passionate love for all life-forms, but they were as personal and elusive as Geordi's. Then Data had talked to others, including Yeoman Joshua Stern who followed the ancient Earth religion of Judaism, and with Chief Thomas Greycloud whose heritage was Amerindian of a tribe called Sioux. Each of them had shared with Data some of the rich tapestry of legends that made up the history and definition of their cultural backgrounds.

Data found both the disparity and similarities a fascinating study, but none of the vast influx of information he had gained from his readings and from contact with his crewmates had provided any form of personal enlightenment. "

[2] "'In the last several days, using the computer at top speed, I have read all of the major writings on the myths and religions of Earth. I have also read many of the Vulcan teachings and most of the writings from Betazed. I have encountered the names of several thousand deities.'

No, Data. There has been only one.'

'If there has been only one, how do you explain the multitude of definitions and practices, each claiming to come from divine inspiration?'

Guinan clasped her hands and studied the android. Data, to whom impatience was null-programming, waiting while the bartender chose her words. "

'I would appreciate it then,' Data said, 'if you could explain--the point--to me.'

'The point, Data, is that this--something--this power we name God--and God is a good name; short, simple, easier to say than many--is beyond our definitions. Whether you call it a force or a being, whether you make it male or female or androgynous, whether you break its characteristics into a thousand different aspects or gather them together into one all-powerful being, God--true God--is beyond all that.'

'Then no one is correct in his beliefs'

'On the contrary, Data, everyone is correct.'

'Then how does one choose which expression of beliefs to follow?' Data asked.

"'The Ashkaarians worship the Lady of the Balances. It can be a difficult thing for any people to balance the things of science against the things of the spirit, but it is necessary. The Ne'elatians realized this in time. Too many other people never do...' " [Many other religious refs. throughout novel. It is a central theme.]

"'There are always some who accredit any disaster to divine intervention. As long as it's a minority, it isn't likely to harm us, is it?'

'That might be the case,' commented Data, 'if there were not another complicating factor. The Burani are highly religious and even those who do not believe this theory respect it. One who does subscribe to this belief--and quite vocally--is their ruler, T'Fara. Naturally, his own conviction sways a lot of his people.' "

"He opened his arms to Odo, and Odo came to him. There was no way back to the Federation from here, no way to help Worf and Kira for the moment, so why not? He had joined with changelings before, when he'd visited their Homeworld, and it had been one of the most incredible sensations of his life. The nearest thing he could compare it to was sex among the solids, but it wasn't like that. It was . . . spiritual, he decided. A joining of minds, a melding of thoughts and souls, a surrender to a larger universe. You lost your individuality and became part of something greater than yourself. "

"'It may be,' the Vulcan mused, 'that the eventual goal will be what the inhabitants considered the most important site--the grave of a leader or great dignitary, or possibly the location of sacrificial offerings.'

Harry stared at the intricate grouping of skeletons that lay before them, dozens of them laid out in a series of concentric circles. Was it possible these magnificent creatures had been sacrificed to some deity, living or imagined? The thought gave him a chill, even though he knew through his studies that many species--including his own--had at one time performed such rituals. " [Some other refs. to the 'archaeological' findings on the alien planet, and the musings of Tuvok and Harry about them, not in DB.]

"It was becoming obvious that, despite their caution, they'd overlooked a great many things. The Awakening. She'd heard the Urrythans speaking of it, she'd seen the inscriptions, seen the pillars--had they been some sort of cocoon? They'd looked upon all of it as superstition, religious mumbo jumbo. The Urrythans had their faith, as Janeway herself and the others of her crew had their own faiths, and yet she had been too blind to see beyond the differences, too blind to notice how much of what had been said and written was born out by the events and circumstances that had surrounded her. " [More.]

"The tallest of them appeared to be religious temples or churches; when the captain had mentioned this, Tabor confirmed that the Chiarosans worshiped multiple deities, and that the more affluent were seen as blessed by the gods. Religious classism, Picard thought, glad that Earth's society had long ago evolved beyond such artificial stratification. "

"The untold minutes I leaned against the door, shuddering, cold, absorbing the whole monumental concept of what I had been told, then rejecting it, then absorbing more. She was a liar. She was delusional. There was some other reason. It made no sense. It made perfect sense. Culture . . . habit . . . religion . . . biology . . . No answer served me today. "

"The greatest joke ever told, it should be noted, was developed in a monastery in the upper mountain regions on the larger moon of Sicila IV. What made it so great was this: with most other jokes, repeated tellings only diminish their effectiveness--but not this one. The joke of the Sicila monks was so multilayered, so comically hilarious, that it became funnier upon repeated tellings. In fact, it was so funny that it was addictive. Hearing it once was insufficient. One had to hear it repeatedly. It was like a narcotic. Indeed, to hear the joke once was to have your life ruined, because then you had to hear it again and again and again. It became impossible to get on with anything else. you lived for the joke. You died for the joke. The only ones who were immune to the joke were the monks themselves, since, by a strange twist of fate, they had no sense of humor whatsoever. Casual telling of the joke to groundskeepers or the occasional odd visitor to the monastery... "

"'So are you here for a dispensation?' He [the Grand Nagus] regarded me [Q] with interest. 'I've never given dispensation to an omnipotent being--even a powerless one. I can't wait to look up the going price. What religion are you?'

"There was a short, stocky specimen, in yellow and blue garb and an elaborate, yellow and black mask. Though Palmieri knew of races whose people went hooded for cultural or religious reasons, he had a feeling this was something else--some kind of disguise. " [The Star Fleet officer observes Wolverine, in his mask, for the first time.]

As much as Star Trek borrows from Platonic thought, we've never seen anything like the Forms in any of the series or movies. Trek has, however, frequently advocated a desire for perfection quite similar to Plato's esteem for the Forms, as evidenced in such episodes as 'The Omega Directive' (VGR: #89), wherein Janeway & Seven of Nine lock horns over what to do with an unstable, highly dangerous molecule known as Omega. Janeway is bound by a highly classified Starfleet order mandating... destruction of the substance whenever it's encountered. Seven, on the other hand, embodies the Borg belief that Omega can be captured and therefore neutralized for study.

Now, I realize this isn't a perfect parallel. After all, Plato's Forms are immaterial. They're also indestructible, which Omega clearly isn't. However, the Borg's reverence for Omega is very similar to Plato's esteem for the Forms, insomuch as both represent perfection. "

[2] "Seven dismisses the 'Omega Directive' [Janeway's Starfleet orders to destroy any Omega molecule] as yet another example of our tendency to destroy whatever we don't understand simply out of ignorance and fear. 'I can alleviate your ignorance,' she says to Janeway. 'As for your fear . . .'... Seven does acquiesce to her commanding officer, though, and begins constructing a harmonic resonance chamber, which may 'contain and stabilize the molecule.'... Though Seven again debates the merits of destroying the molecules, her commitment to her new collective (namely Voyager), ultimately wins out. Together, she works with Janeway on neutralizing Omega in the test chamber when suddenly the molecules begin to spontaneously stabilize. For Seven, the moment amounts to witnessing utter perfection; in fact, she's so transfixed by the sight, she doesn't realize she has only ten seconds to get out of the decompression chamber before Omega is jettisoned into space! "

[3] "As the story concludes, we see that Seven's fleeting encounter with the essence of Omega continues to have a profound impact on her normally phlegmatic self. While running the Leonardo da Vinci simulation inside the holodeck, she keenly observes the program's many religious components, including a crucifix, to help her 'understand what I saw in Cargo Bay Two.' Though the Borg have assimilated many species with mythologies to explain such moments of clarity, Seven admits to Janeway that she'd dismissed them as trivial. 'Perhaps,' she now recognizes, 'I was wrong.' Not unlike the newly liberated cave dweller in Plato's allegory, she is momentarily stupified upon seeing how mistaken she was about reality -- in this case, spiritual reality. Indeed, Janeway suggests, as Socrates might, it is perhaps only now that Seven experienced spirituality for the first time. "

[4] "Janeway's exact line to Seven: 'If I didn't know better, I'd say you just had your first spiritual experience.' Perhaps the captain is drawing on the spiritual insight she experienced in 'Sacred Ground' (VGR: #43), an episode we'll discuss in Chapter 15.}

But are they? We all--to some degree--contain the memories, traits, fragments of those personalities that came before us. Indeed, perhaps we are even 'joined' on a deeper, more spiritual level. The first Hebitians believe this. Each generation is not only succeeded by the next, it is subsumed by it, so that the past is always present and actively involved in creating the future... "

"'...but I could not help wondering about the human capacity for expressing both pleasure and sadness simultaneously.'

'I understand why it would seem confusing,' Picard replied. To some, perhaps, Data's ingenuous yet perplexing questions might be cause for irritation, yet the captain had always been grateful them; they served to crystallize his own feelings, to make what was often unconscious conscious. 'Certain human rituals--like weddings, birthdays, or funerals--evoke strong and very complex emotions because they mark important transitions in our lives.'

Data tilted his head ever so slightly, a gesture that always accompanied his attempt to fathom humankind. 'They denote the passage of time.'

"As for his own loss of existence, Data [an artificial intelligence] felt no regret. Death held no mystery for him; he had been deactivated before, and knew it was simply nothingness. Unlike a living being, he needed fear no pain. Nor did he have any questions about an afterlife. For him, there would be none. "

[Year estimated] "Guzan met us at the temple. A son of Iskilip was supposedly in charge, but the duke ignored that youth as much as we did. They had a hundred guardsmen with them, scaly-coated, shaven-headed, tattooed with storms and dragons. The early sunlight gleamed off obsidian spearheards. Our approach was watched in silence... Val Nira walked between Rovic and Guzan. Strange, I thought, that the instrument of God's will for us was so shriveled. He ought to have walked tall and haughty, with a star on his brow. " [Extensive references to a religious culture in this apparently far-future setting. Other refs. not in DB.]

[1] "'Then how is it--' Arla said, and Sisko's attention was caught by her tone. The Commander was finally ready to make her point. '--nine days from now, when the two wormholes are going to open in the Bajoran system only kilometers apart from each other and . . . and supposedly end the universe, or transform it somehow, that that completely arbitrary stardate system is going to roll over to 7700.0 at the same moment that Earth's calendar starts a new century with the first day of 2401 A.C.E.?' "

[2] "Her question was so incredibly naive, Sisko couldn't believe the Bajoran had even asked it. 'Coincidence, Commander.' Now it was he who was expectant, waiting for her to say something more, to somehow explain herself.

'Coincidence,' she repeated thoughtfully, obviously not accepting the answer. Sisko regarded her with puzzlement.

'Did you know,' Arla said, 'that an old Klingon calendar system reverts to the Fourth Age of Kahless on that same date? That the Orthodox Andorian Vengeance Cycle begins its 330th iteration then also? That that very same date is the one given in Ferengi tradition when some groups celebrate the day the Great Material River first overflowed its banks among the stars and, in the flood that followed, created Ferenginar and the first Ferengi?' "

[3] "As Arla recited her list, Sisko observed her gesticulate with one hand to emphasize her words, and was fascinating to see the sudden action in microgravity billow the commander's robes around her like seaweed caught in a tidal current, pulsing back and forth in time with the slow, floating motion of her earring chain.

'Seventeen different spacefaring cultures, Captain Sisko. That's how many worlds have calendar systems that either reset or roll over to significant dates or new counting cycles on the exact same date the two wormholes come into alignment. Two systems coinciding is a coincidence. I'll give you that. Maybe even three or four. But seventeen? There must be some better explanation for that. Wouldn't you agree?'

Sisko took his time replying. He wished he knew the reasons behind the Bajoran commander's sudden obsession with the timing of events and timekeeping systems derived from religious traditions. " [More.]

"Of course the Sygn wanted to find the name of the deity or dedicatee of the 'temple' on the original site: Arvin is Velm's smaller moon, which by night looks no larger than Iiriani-prime by day. And Arvin was the best they could come up with, since concepts like 'temple,' 'deities,' 'ancient,' 'dedicatees,' and even 'name' just didn't fit into the local evelmi culture at the time the way humans might have expected. " [More.]

religious

galaxy

2500

Gardner, James Alan. Expendable. New York: Avon Books (1997); pg. 6.

"It took longer to see through those who welcomed me. Some were obvious, of course, like the ones with religious leanings. For obscure reasons, bright-smiling proselytizers with God in their hearts were drawn to me like beetles to carrion. They may have considered me desperate for acceptance of any kind--an easy convert. Perhaps too, those eager believers thought that associating with a pariah would purify their souls . . . like flagellation. Whatever the reason, I spent many mealtimes listening to guarantees of spiritual fulfillment, if only I would come out to regular Fellowship meetings. "

"To take my mind off that, I asked myself why it had been so important for him to be buried at sea . . . if that really was what he wanted. I knew some religions believed strongly in the practice--the Last Baptism, they called it, a return to the mother of us all. Did Chee belong to one of those faiths? Or had he perhaps come from a waterworld, an oceandome, a sargasso habitat . . . some birthplace near the sea... "

"Of course, it was ending in a cocktail party. Wherever Terran humans went, they planted tobacco and coffee, to have coffee and cigarettes for breakfast, and wherever they went they found or introduced something that would ferment to produce C2H5OH, and around 1730-ish each day, they had Cocktail Hour. The natives on planets like Loki and Gimli and Thor and even Shesha and Uller thought it was a religious observance.

Maybe it was, at that. "

religious

galaxy

2700

Emerson, Jane. City of Diamond. New York: DAW (1996); pg. 25.

[Epigraph] "Exporting a religion across cultures can lead to unfortunate consequences. Exporting a religion across species would seem disastrous.

"The Web in this century had many of the religious overtone of the Rome of Old Earth just before the Christian Era: a policy of tolerance, a myriad of religions--most, like Zen Gnosticism, complex and inwardly turned rather than the stuff of proselytism--while the general tenor was one of gentle cynicism and indifference to religious impulse. "

"With tears in their eyes, the selection panels had thrown away the Veda, the Bible, the Tripitaka, the Qur'an, and all the immense body of literature--fiction and nonfiction--that was based upon them. Despite all the wealth of beauty and wisdom these works contained, they could not be allowed to reinfect virgin planets with the ancient poisons of religious hatred, belief in the supernatural, and the pious gibberish with which countless billions of men and women had once comforted themselves at the cost of addling their minds. Lost also in the great purge were virtually all the works of the supreme novelists, poets, and playwrights, which would in any case have been meaningless without their philosophical and cultural background. Homer, Shakespeare, Milton, Tolstoy, Melville, Proust--the last great fiction writer before the electronic revolution overwhelmed the printed page--all that was left were a few hundred thousand carefully selected passages. "

Religious belief had ceased to matter to the Supplicant; she believed in the threat of alien invasion. That was enough... 'I'm not Muslim, anymore. I don't understand Jonism. I'm just a woman.' " [Jonism is the dominant religion in the culture, so anybody who is not a Jonist is considered a 'religionist.'];

Pg. 191: "'...Officially, you were deported because you are a secret religionist, a Jew.'

'I'm not!'

...'Tell them!' Marcer started toward Peter... Peter spoke to Marcer without looking at him. 'I told the truth, that some of the family are Marranos. They pretended to be Jonist, but secretly, privately, follow religionist superstitions. They light candles. They pray. I've admitted to these delegates that you're one of them.' " [More.]

Pg. 42: "The land which was eventually to be named Tiguafaya formed the southern tip of a vast continent. It had been remote even before a particularly violent sequence of eruptions, some five centuries earlier, had destroyed the only roads into the area, effectively cutting it off from all communications other than by sea. At the time the settlers took this as an omen, symbolic of their chosen renunciation of the godless ways of other people. For some it meant hardship for all. Their often professed desire for self-sufficiency was put to the test. "; Pg. 43: "Over the centuries that followed, religious freedom had ironically become less important than the simple need to survive in a hostile environment. Further eruptions caused periodic havoc and, although major upheavals only occurred once or twice each century, the ever changing, treacherous nature of the land made progress slow. "

religious

galaxy

3000

Nagata, Linda. Deception Well. New York: Bantam (1997); pg. 104.

"...and maybe that was all anybody needed: faith. Better than food and drink and sex and kids and love. Faith is love at its most intense and selfless. Society was built on faith... The congregation was strung out behind him in a long running wave that filled the narrow streets... " [More.]

...'And then will come the missionaries. The petroleum geologists. The sea farmers. The developers.' "

religious

galaxy

3000

Zahn, Timothy. Angelmass. New York: Tor (2001); pg. 64.

"'Good.' Podolak straightened up again, that almost religious intensity disappearing into a wry smile as she did so. "

religious

galaxy

3099

Simmons, Dan. Endymion. New York: Bantam (1996); pg. 52.

"It seemed a lifetime ago... How could anyone stay sane with entire lifetimes stored in one human mind?... 'So we heard about the Pax and wondered what it would be like when it truly arrived... A theocracy . . . unthinkable during the centuries of the Hegemony. Religion then was, of course, purely personal choice--I belonged to a dozen religions and started more than one of my own during my days as a literary celebrity... Most people I knew were Zen Christians... More Zen than Christian, of course, but not too much of either, actually. Personal pilgrimages were fun. Places of power, finding one's Baedecker point, all of that crap... The Hegemony would never have dreamed of getting involved with religion, of course. The very thought of mixing government and religious opinion was barbaric . . . something one found on Qom-Riyadh or somesuch Outback desert world. And then came the Pax, with its glove of velvet and its cruciform of hope . . .' "

religious

galaxy

3200

Simak, Clifford D. Project Pope. New York: Ballantine (1981); pg. 22.

"'...There appears to be an idea that the project is an outgrowth of Christianity, an Old Earth religion.'

'We know what Christianity is,' Jill said. 'There still are a lot of Christians, perhaps more than ever before. True, Christianity no longer looms as important as it did before we began going into space. This, however, is a relative thing. The religion is still as important as ever, but its seeming importance has been diluted by the many other faiths that exist in the galaxy. Isn't it strange that faith is so universal? Even the ugliest aliens appear to have a faith to cling to.'

'Not all of them,' said the captain. 'Not all of them by any means. I have run into alien areas, into entire planets, where no one had every thought of religion or of faith...' "

religious

galaxy

3300

Brin, David. Heaven's Reach. New York: Bantam (1998); pg. 93.

"'Uh, noble lineage?' Harry repeated. No one had ever accused him of that before.

'Of course. You are from Earth! Blessed home of Moses, Jesus, Buddha, Muhammed, Tipler, and Weimberg-Chang! The abode where wolflings burst to sapience in a clear case of virgin birth, without intervention by any other race of Galactic sinners, but as an immaculate gift from the Cosmos itself!'

'The world whence comes a notion that will change the universe forever. A concept that you, dear brother, must come help us share!'

The huge evangelist leaned toward Harry, projecting intense fervor through both sound and an ardent light in his eyes.

'The idea of a God who loves each person! Who finds importance not in your race or clan, or any grand abstraction, but every particular entity who is self-aware and capable of improvement.

'The Creator of All...' " [More, pg. 93-94.]

religious

galaxy

3300

Brin, David. Heaven's Reach. New York: Bantam (1998); pg. 290.

"That was the chief perplexing quandary dogging the fugitive Earthlings for three long, hellish years.

Oh, the superficial answer was easy. When Creideiki and Orley beamed images from the Shallow Cluster, they triggered religious schisms across the Five Galaxies. Rival clans and alliances, who had controlled their feuding for ages, sent battle fleets to secure Streaker's samples--and especially the coordinates of the derelict fleet--before their rivals could acquire them.

Some said the Ghost Armada might be blessed Progenitors, returning to survey their descendants after two billion years. But if so, why react violently? Wouldn't all dogmatic differences be worked out, once truth was shared by all? " [Other refs., not in DB.]

religious

galaxy

3308

Thornley, Diann. Echoes of Issel. New York: Tor (1996); pg. 17.

"He shook his head, let it droop. He wasn't even sure he knew--except that he didn't know his father. All he knew were the terms others used then they talked about him:

"Adams himself dressed well, but conservatively, as though he had been much influenced by older men... Nonetheless, Villiers had seen one recent ex-priest and any number of off-duty Naval officers on Nashua itself in whose company Adams could comfortably have fitted. " [The word 'priest' here may refer to any religion, perhaps Mithraism.]

Pg. 19: "There were seventeen passengers aboard ship, among them a covey of young girls being shepherded to Miss McBurney's Justly Famous Seminary and Finishing School on Nashua (sic) to learn to be fashionable ladies... The reason for the removal was that Mrs. Bogue, the escort, found the conversation in the main cabin not to her taste, and if she wasn't interested, she was sure that the girls would not be.

The topic of conversation was theology, and the girls, for their own private and inscrutable reasons, chiefest of which was Mrs. Bogue's non-interest--therefore, absence--professed themselves only too eager to stay and learn of these strange and interesting matters. "; Pg. 20: "The girls probably wouldn't have enjoyed the theology anyway. None of the other passengers did. "

One was a Trog named Torve, a light brown, woolly, six foot toad... His personality was lumpish. His motives were inscrutable... The other was a fraudulent old fart named Augustus Srb. Short, fat, intelligent, even magnificent, he wore his mantle as a priest of the Revived Church of Mithra with a verve, a flair, that was not matched by his defense of churchly doctrine. "

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